Laughter Therapy For Brain Injury

Laughter Yoga is really going places as more and more people are reaping the enormous health benefits it provides. It is widely being used as an alternative treatment for several diseases, mental disorders, emotional upheavals and trauma due to injury, fatal sickness or surgery etc. In fact, recently, a very successful laughter session was conducted on a group of patients with brain injury at the Saskatchewan Association for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured (SARBI), found and it turned out to be the ‘best medicine’ for them.

Laughter leader Helen Bzdel who has been working with the patients at SARBI for about two years said that people with brain injuries undergo all sorts of different levels of functioning and memory, yet many of them surprisingly remember the laughter exercises that they have done. This proves that even people with impaired brain functioning respond well to laughter therapy mainly because it is a physical exercise and does not require any mental abilities. The therapy also incorporates creativity, breathing techniques, and the group dynamics and eye contact make it easy for everyone to follow.

Garry Sales has been practicing laughter lead by Bzdel for two years and has seen exceptional improvement both psychically and emotionally. “It gives you a happy feeling because you’re participating with people who have similar tragedies to your own. So it makes you feel good knowing you’re not alone,” said Sales.

The benefits go beyond that feel good feeling laughter provides it also conditions the abdominal muscles, releases endorphins and reduces blood pressure.